Climbing the Tower
by robertkellett
Summary: After sailing the seven seas, Riku and Kairi continue their odd little adventures by climbing a tower. (Spoilers for KH3 Ending)


_**Hello! i really enjoyed writing Riku and Kairi adventures with my 'Exploring the Seas' story, so going to try and make one for each world Sora visited in KH3. This covers Riku and Kairi visiting the 'Tangled' world, and coming off fresh re-watching the film a few hours of this writing, still stands as a favorite Disney film. Hope you enjoy and keep an eye out for more one-shots like this to come. **_

* * *

Coming out of the Gummi Ship, Kairi and Riku's eyes were nearly blinded with how bright the forest was. Once their vision adjusted to their surroundings, Kairi gasped at how beautiful the tower before was. Seeing a gust of flowers gently hovering around it would have made her swoon; it was out of a fairy tale she read as a child. Riku folded his arms and smirked at the sight, though part of him felt guilty being the one beside her right now. _Sora should be here… _Sighing at the somber thought, he walked up to her, arms still folded. "So, why are we here again?"

"I dunno honestly," Kairi admitted her awe at bay for the moment to assess their situation. While exploring the Carribean with Jack was fun, it didn't offer any answers as to where Sora was. She felt a powerful light, one nearly blinding in the distance, feeling compelled to follow it. Riku figured she was referring to Sora, but seeing where they were at right now… He figured it was about her connection to the new princesses of heart. Not wanting to let her hopes down though, he kept that tidbit of info to himself, just going along with the ride. Noticing his silence, Kairi tapped his shoulder, making him raise an eyebrow. "You are moping again."

"I'm not moping." He said defensively, though making Kairi giggle made a smile worm onto Riku's face. Loud shouting got their attention though, making the keyblade wielders enter a battle position, keyblades in hand. Seeing a fluffy heartless… Those exist apparently, chasing a man running on top of a barrel. "Hey! Hop off that thing, we got this."

"Great! Take care of those heartless for me champ." The man hopped off and rolled behind a tree, seemingly getting a… Frying pan out? Noticing the baffled look from Riku, the man pouted. "Trust me, this took down its fair share of heartless."

"Whatever you say to sleep at night." Riku scoffed, charging into the heartless with little hesitation, making the fluffy monsters stumble like a shoddy tower. Hopping in the air, he was going to unleash some Dark Firga blasts, but a blur of white dashed into the creature before he could finish it off. Landing on his feet, Riku and Kairi noticed a young woman on a horse, donning a pink-ish dress and holding a sword in her hands. Hopping off her steed, she flicked her blade in the air and… Used her _hair _of all things to grab the blade and make a sweeping slash. Kairi smiled at the sight, using this moment to charge a Light Blast at the heartless. This finished the remaining creatures off, with the man peaking from behind the tree.

"That was amazing!" Kairi shouted, grabbing the woman's hands and shaking it frantically. "How can you control your hair like that? Is it some kind of magic?!" The blond woman sheepishly laughed, backing away from the oddly excited Kairi. Noticing she was making the woman and man slightly confused, she coughed and composed herself. "...Sorry, got a bit excited there. Name's Kairi and my friend's Riku."

"Ah, so new sidekicks." The man smirked, his face having a lovable look, but one Riku wanted to punch for some reason. "I'm Eugine, Prince of Corona and this lovely warrior over here is Rapunzel." He made a mock bow, making her laugh nervously. "Come on, what princess can fight like you?"

"Maybe I can." Kairi challenged, folding her arms proudly. Repunzel blinked, looking at Riku and Kairi. She capped her hands excitedly, grabbing Eugine's arm.

"Look! We found another battle couple like us! And they even match!" Kairi's eyes twitched, with Riku coughing awkwardly. Before either of them could respond, Eugine shook his head.

"Nah, I don't see it." He folded his arms, making Riku scoff. "What? You are too… What's the word... " He snapped his fingers. "Right! Moody for someone bright like her. I bet her boyfriend is a walking way of sunshine that's…" As if he hit the nail on the head, he had a genuine smile. "No wonder Sora was so helpful... It's a pleasure to meet you two."

Riku felt his fists itch for a real fight, but Kairi reading the room, put a hand on his shoulder. "...Yeah, we are actually looking for him. Did you see Sora, Donald or Goofy anywhere recently?" Repunzel seemingly picked up on Kairi's tone, her lips forming a weak frown.

"Sorry, but we haven't seen them since they last visited. Sora and his friends actually helped us out clear the forest of heartless. They only showed up again recently." She flicked her blade in the air. "Oddly, they only popped up again when my hair started growing out recently."

"If you didn't touch those weird… Spike things, maybe your hair wouldn't have grown again blondie." Repunzel raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I love your look brunette or blond, you know that." She smiled, kissing his cheek. Getting the group's attention, however, was Repunzel's white steed walking toward Riku, his face having a proud look. "Of course, be friendly with tall and moody over there…"

Riku smirked, petting the horse's mane. "I dunno, maybe he just doesn't like you cause you reek of cowardness." The two glared at each other, somewhat good-naturedly before Kairi walked between them. "...He started insulting me first."

"And you are the 'mature one' of our trio. Grow up Riku." Kairi responded back somewhat playfully though she was clearly annoyed. Another world with zero leads on Sora… Repunzel put a hand on Kairi's shoulder, giving a worried expression. "So you guys have _no _answers?"

"Maybe we could explore the forest after I get some stuff from my tower." Repunzel offered, with Kairi giving a weak smile in thanks. She started climbing it, throwing her hair at the hook with grace. Eugine grew a worried expression but he just leaned on the tower, keeping a watchful eye on Rapunzel. He pointedly looked at Kairi, face thoughtful.

"Something happened to my sidekick. The other two are fine, but Sora's in trouble, huh?" He asked, with Riku nodding. "The kid's a tough one, so I'm assuming whatever scruffle he's in isn't too bad." Kairi looked at her hands, them forming fists in frustration. Eugine blinked at the sight, feeling as if he saw Rapunzel in her place when he was on the verge of… His face instantly turned pale, unable to look at the teens before him. "You did all you could, right?" Kairi didn't answer him, flicking her wrist and climbing the tower with harsh strikes of her keyblade acting like a hook.

Riku frowned, walking toward the tower. But Eugine put a hand firmly on his shoulder. "...I'm holding up fine, I know Sora's somewhere." Eugine just squeezed his hold tighter.

"I shouldn't be standing here right now, but blondie saved my life." He let go and looked up at the tower, a smile forming on his face. "True love might be something out of fairy tales but it's true, it's some of the most powerful magic I've ever seen. And I witnessed a talking duck and dog fighting shadow blobs a month ago." Riku fought back the urge to laugh, forming a smirk on his face.

* * *

Inside the tower though, Rapunzel was watching it as if she was in a graveyard. The paint was falling off from years upon years of work making art. Glass shards laying on the ground, with memories of the last fight with her 'mother' playing in her mind. And piles of now smelly long brown hair were scattered all over the place. Kairi landed inside the tower, eyes wide at the display. "I really need to clean my old home up, huh?" Repunzel joked, with Kairi walking toward the princess.

"You… Lived here?" She picked up some brushes, seeing clumps of hair stuck on it. "Hope you didn't live alone…" Rapunzel sighed, sitting on a rocking chair Gothel always stat in. Kairi picked up on Repunzel's sadness, sitting across from her on a nearby stool.

"No, I lived with my 'mother'. She… She did love me, but for the wrong reasons." Repunzel said, her tone losing its bubbly nature from earlier, this was more somber, sounding like someone died. "I finally went out and saw the world… Only to find out the person that I trusted my entire life, was lying to me." She looked up at a specific painting, one where a blond girl was watching thousands of lanterns flying in the sky. Kairi's eyes went wide, looking around the room and piecing things together. "I'm really happy now, with the person I love. But I almost lost him because of Gothel." She tugged at her long locks, green eyes nearly shut. Kairi took her hand, having a sympathetic look.

"I… I lost Sora. And it's all my fault." Kairi admitted out loud, finally saying out loud what her mind's been screaming for the past two months. Rapunzel only squeezed her hand tighter, having a look of complete understanding.

"Eugine nearly died trying to save me. It was only our love for each other, or a miracle, that made him come back." Repunzel closed her eyes, humming a familiar tune to herself. Kairi nearly cried at how sad it sounded, but Rapunzel didn't cry; she was smiling. "I feel a powerful light in you, kinda like my strange hair. You can get him back."

Kairi smiled, her eyes were glassy at Repunzel's words. "I plan on dragging him back home, and yelling at him for being so stupid." Rapunzel laughed heartedly, hugging Kairi. The girl blinked, unsure how to respond.

"You sound like me when Eugine does something stupid, which is often." Repunzel joked, but a loud 'Hey!' was heard. Repunzel and Kairi saw Riku and Eugine sitting by the window's ledge. Eugine had a slightly irked look, with Riku elbowing him. "Sweetie, you do get into trouble sometimes."

"As if you don't?" He playfully shot back, hopping into the tower. "Boy… What. A. Mess." He looked at Riku, leaning on his shoulder. "Would you be a pal and help me clean up?" Riku saw a nearby broom and picked it up. Eugine was going to say thank you until Riku chucked it in Eugine's hand. Having a clearly annoyed expression, he sighed and started sweeping up the glass. Riku just flicked his keyblade and using a mixture of water magic and a rag, he started cleaning some of the nearby furniture. Repunzel and Kairi smiled, going into the kitchen and put on the teapot, talking about various adventures they've experienced as the pot boiled.

* * *

Outside the tower, Pascal and Maximus were playing a game of rock, paper, scissors… How a little chameleon and a horse could become such close friends baffled even Repunzel. But when the horse snickered, the chameleon just glared at his friend before blending into the grass. Sighing, Maximus watched as heartless were just huddled by the nearby lake, splashing water around.

Eyes glaring at the monsters, he charged into them like a wild bull, with Pascal chucking small rocks at them for good measure. The creatures huddled together into a massive white cotton ball, but a loud neigh from Maximus made the monsters vanish from pure fear.

"You guys playing nice out there?" Eugine asked playfully, with Maximus saluting to the man. Pascal just gave a thumbs up. He went back inside to help out with cleaning, unaware of the scattered heartless that remained dazed from the wrath of a mighty steed. Maximus and Pascal just bumped their fists/hooves and resumed their game from earlier.


End file.
